Chocolate Mug Cake

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I love this chocolate mug cake made in the microwave. It is so simple to make and the cake turns out moist and delightful. Ready in just a few minutes too!

Mug or bowl cakes are so amazing. They are perfect for portion control as well since they are a single-serving desert. Have a late night craving for something sweet? Make this!

The cool thing is you can do it with any flavor of cake mix that you want and you only need 3 simple ingredients to make this fabulous chocolate mug cake.

Also if you are allergic to eggs or just don’t eat them, that is okay, no eggs are required.

Maybe you don’t like cake mixes and want to make them from scratch, I got you covered. You can certainly make it completely from scratch with just 7 ingredients. This easy recipe makes enough for 1 serving or for one person.

When I am craving cake and don’t want to make a whole cake, I just make this best mug cake recipe, and start to finish I am eating cake in less than 5 minutes. Pretty awesome!

If I can do it, you can do it. Let’s get started!

Step 1: Gather the ingredients and tools

In order to make this yummy easy chocolate mug cake recipe you will need just 3 ingredients:

• Cake Mix – This will work with most cake mixes. (From scratch recipe listed below)
• Water – I like to use filtered water since my tap water tastes really bad.
• Oil – A number of different oils will work, vegetable, canola, etc.

Or if making it from scratch you need just 7 ingredients:

• Flour – You can use all purpose flour or cake flour
• Sugar
• Cocoa powder
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Water – Or you can use milk, almond milk, or coffee
• Oil – Use vegetable oil, canola, olive, coconut, or avocado oil
• Optional – banana, yogurt, applesauce, or sour cream
• Optional – chocolate chips

Tools

• Mug or bowl (11/12 ounces for normal size), make sure to use a microwave-safe mug or oven-safe.
• Fork

Step 2: How to make a chocolate mug cake with a cake mix

Whether you are making a mug cake or bowl cake the steps will be the same, it just depends on the size of your bowl or mug.

Add the cake mix, water, and oil to the mug, and then use a fork to mix the ingredients together.

There you have it, your cake batter is ready to go. Do not follow what it says on the back of the box. Most of the time the cake will call for eggs, but you don’t need them in this!

Step 3: Microwave that single serving cake!

Now it is time to microwave that cake. Place the mug or bowl in the microwave. The cook time will vary depending on what you are using. A small bowl will only take about 1 minute on high. A normal-sized mug will take 1 minute and 30 seconds to 1 minute and 45 seconds on high.

The cooking time also depends on the wattage of your microwave. If you have multiple mugs or bowls, cook them one at a time.

Once it is done, poke it in the middle with a toothpick, if it comes out clean it is ready to go. The coffee mug and bowl will be hot, let them stand for a few minutes before handling them.

Step 4: Add those toppings to your chocolate mug cake

Once the cakes have cooled. You can top them with whatever you like. I typically don’t put frosting on my but you certainly can. Powdered sugar is usually my go-to topping on my mug cake. You can also serve it with a scoop of ice cream on top or whipped cream.

You can certainly just eat them plain. This is a great recipe to make for someone with a sweet tooth but you only want to make a small batch dessert and not a full-sized cake.

Enjoy!

How to make this easy mug cake recipe from scratch

If you don’t want to use a cake mix and want to make your chocolate mug cake entirely from scratch, just follow these easy steps and use the basic ingredients:

1. Add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and a pinch of salt to the mug and mix with a fork. This will break up any clumps that you might have from the cocoa powder.
2. Then add the wet ingredients together which includes the water, milk, soy milk, or almond milk, and the oil. And if you want to use sour cream, banana, yogurt, vanilla extract, etc. add that as well. Just like that, the batter is ready and the mug cake is ready to be cooked/baked.
3. Now place the mug in the microwave and cook it for 1 minute and 30 seconds in a 1200-watt microwave or it may need 1 min 45 seconds or up to 2 minutes even if you have a lower-watt microwave.
4. Check with a toothpick and if it comes out clean it is done.
5. Top with whatever you like

Homemade Mug Cake FAQs

Can I bake a mug cake in the oven?

Yes! If you don’t have a microwave or don’t want to use one you can certainly bake the 1 serving mug cake in the oven.

You need an oven-safe bowl/mug or a small cake pan. 350F/176C In a standard tall oven-proof mug it will take 25 to 30 minutes. In a wide open-mouth mug it will take less time 20 to 25 minutes. Just check it with a toothpick. In a small cake pan, it will be 15 to 20 minutes.

How long does the mug cake last?

Well for me, it lasts about 3 to 4 minutes which is how long it takes me to eat it, haha. But if you don’t want to eat it all in one sitting, just cover it and store it at room temp or in the fridge. It will last a few days.

Can I make this mug cake gluten-free?

Of course! You can use a gluten-free cake mix, OR it is super easy to make it from scratch using the from-scratch ingredients in the printable recipe below. Just swap out the all-purpose or cake flour with a 1:1 gluten-free flour mix.

3 Tablespoons of gluten-free flour is all you need and then everything else will be the same. And voila! You will have a gluten-free mug cake, perfect for 1 person.

Is this cake vegan?

As long as you use vegan ingredients it is. There are no eggs or milk in this recipe, so it is very easy to keep it a vegan mug cake.

Here are a few more recipes you may like:

Funfetti Cake Mix Pancakes

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

3 Ingredient Vanilla Ice Cream

Chocoflan

Do you like this easy microwave mug cake recipe? Please give it a rating and comment down below, I really appreciate it.  If you make it tag me on Instagram @inthekitchenwithmatt. Also, sign up for the newsletter so you won’t miss out on any of my new posts and recipes.